4 Ways That Your Employer Brand Can Impact Growth

Date:
03 June 2015

As an employer within a highly competitive marketplace, it isn't enough to rely on a highly regarded consumer brand to attract and retain the best employees. Your ability to appeal to, and retain the brightest and the best talent depends far more on your ability to create and maintain a desirable Employer Brand.

Creating this is no easy task; it requires an understanding of the strategic objectives of the business, as well as the career objectives of the people who can help you to achieve success. Only then can you begin to create your own Employer Value Proposition (EVP), which sets out the unique offer you must make to the most valuable candidates in the marketplace.

Crucially, this single EVP must appeal to both internal and external audiences, which means that in addition to making your Employer Brand stand out, it must accurately reflect the realities of working within your organisation.

Just as importantly, once you have identified and established a successful Employer Brand, you need to monitor and evaluate four key areas that can affect your image and impact on the successful recruitment that will drive future growth.

1. The Interview Experience

One of the most common and damaging mistakes any employer can make is to view the interview process as a one-way street. In fact, for organisations that care about their Employer Brand, interviews are very much a two-way process.

In addition to assessing the suitability of the applicant, it is essential that candidates have the chance to assess the ethos, ambitions and future direction of your organisation, in order to ensure that it offers opportunities for them to achieve their own career goals.

It is also highly desirable that all interviewees end the interview process with a positive impression of your organisation: whether their application has been successful or not. The candidate may not be working for you, but they can still be acting as an advocate for your Employer Brand.

2. Post-Interview Feedback

Providing meaningful feedback can be time-consuming and, in some instances a little awkward, but it’s an essential building block for every Employer Brand. To put it simply, if you have time to interview someone, you have time to offer that person the feedback they need to take away something positive from the experience.

We believe the three most important points to remember are that your feedback should be:

1) Timely

2) Personal

3) Constructive

It’s a good idea to ensure that feedback is offered within five working days from the date of interview to be considered timely. Personal feedback may be offered in person, though this can be quite an awkward experience for all concerned. We often recommend arranging a mutually suitable time for a phone call.

Most importantly of all, feedback should be constructive: enabling candidates to either prepare more thoroughly for their next interview, or to appreciate that their lack of success on this occasion came down to factors beyond their control, such as competition from more experienced candidates.

3. Negative Online Reviews

We live in a connected world, and unsuccessful candidates - not to mention disgruntled ex-employees - are able to post details of their interview or employment experience on social media sites such as Facebook and Glassdoor.

Naturally, you cannot prevent this from occurring, but you should be monitoring social media for potentially damaging comments, as it’s always better to be aware of them and learn from them. Where comments have been posted it’s important to take feedback on board and respond to posts whether positive or negative, to recognise that the feedback has been heard. You should however resist the temptation to get involved in a ‘slanging match’, trading hostilities in an attempt to ‘defend’ your company.

4. Failure to Employ Desirable Candidates

In such a competitive marketplace, the best candidates will often receive more than one job offer and will consider a number of factors before making their decision. If you are regularly missing out on the best candidates, it’s essential to understand why.

In a competitive sector, this type of news travels fast, and it’s natural for other candidates to form a negative opinion, assuming there’s a good reason for others passing your offer. Seeking feedback from those who turned down a job offer can serve as a useful starting point for your investigation.

It goes without saying that the ability to develop a high-performing and loyal workforce is important to every industry. Managing your Employer Brand is a crucial aspect of this. If like many organisations you are currently facing recruitment and retention-related challenges, Phaidon International is here to help you.